Our cultural tours are designed around travel themes. We introduce grand sites and out of the way treasures, take you from markets to feasts, explore awe-inspiring landscapes and architectural masterpieces and create unforgettable signature moments.

Jaguars Are Invisible, or So I Thought!

By: Dave Euler

Never in
my wildest dreams, or in my 30 years as a wildlife biologist, or even in my
years of traveling in South America, did I think I would see a real, live, wild
Jaguar. Jaguars are elusive nocturnal hunters, shy and wary. They
are seen by very few people as they hunt for agoutis, hares and peccaries. Furthermore,
when our Brazilian guide told us we had a chance to see them when we sailed on
the Cuiabá River in the Pantanal, on day 8 of our Quest Nature Tours trip to
Brazil, I was skeptical. However, he is highly experienced and he had
been right in everything else he promised us up to that point in the trip.Could he be wrong this time?

We set off on the river about 8:00 am; the day
was typical for southern Brazil: clear, sunny, hot and beautiful. The Cuiabá River
is muddy brown as it carries its load of silt towards the ocean and provides a
source of great life along its banks. After about two hours enjoying the river
ride, our guide said very calmly, "There is a Jaguar on your left, coming to
the river to drink." With as much calmness as I could muster, I aimed the
camera towards the shore and started to click away. I knew my wildlife colleagues
would not believe that we saw a real Jaguar, living wild and free.

We watched him move a little to the right,
and then he drank. He was noisy like a cat and lapped water for several
minutes.

One Jaguar was not enough and we continued
to motor along the river quietly as we searched for more.

Our next sighting was this female:

She was just resting along the river bank,
perhaps already having had a drink, perhaps just taking it easy during the heat
of the day.

As we watched her, we were surprised to see
the male that we had seen earlier approach her. The male’s intentions were
clear. He was looking to mate. As in all of nature, it takes two to complete
the biological imperative, but this female was in no mood to breed. She let him
know with her very clear verbal signals and growls.

In this picture you can just see the male’s
nose near the center bottom. He took his rejection with good grace and went a
few metres away and adopted an attitude of expectation.

Perhaps his time would come at another place
and on another day.

For a wildlife biologist like me and the other
Quest travellers, this was a thrilling sight and one that will stay with us for
a long time.

Worldwide Quest operates custom designed tours in natural history, culture and the arts on all seven continents. Worldwide Quest offers a series of small group tours led by experienced and engaging leaders designed to enrich and inform in some of the world's most fascinating regions. We also create exceptional Private Journeys for families and friends and design customized travel programs for professional and cultural institutions. Created in 1970 (as Quest Nature Tours and Worldwide Adventures), we are Canadian owned and operated with offices in Toronto, Canada and New Delhi, India.
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